Reflections from a Chick-fil-A Employee

If you haven't heard about the controversy that has blown up between Chick-fil-A and the same-sex community over the last two weeks, then you might actually live under a rock. I say that (jokingly) from a slightly biased point of view because I can't seem to get away from it. I couldn't ignore it even if I wanted to. When I get on Facebook I see posts from all of my friends. When I turn on the TV late in the evening I see it on the news. And when I go to work, it's there, and it's really starting to weigh me down. Yes, I work at Chick-fil-A, and these last two weeks have been very draining on me personally because I feel like three areas of my life, all of which are very important to me, are coming under attack - my faith, my American rights, and my job. In case you do live under a rock, please allow me to share what has happened. Dan Cathy, President of Chick-fil-A was interviewed by Baptist Press, and, for reasons I am not quite sure of, the shortest portion of the interview turned out to be the highlight. Dan Cathy was asked about his family and their views on same-sex marriage. In response, Mr. Cathy said this, 

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that... We intend to stay that course. We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles." 

Apparently we don't live in a country where we can share our values after all, because the Cathy family and Chick-fil-A have literally been under attack for two weeks, and it shows no signs of stopping. In fact, Chick-fil-A lost its only African American executive today, the VP of Public Relations, Don Perry. He passed away earlier this morning, and the news of his passing has been met with jokes, hateful and hurtful remarks, and just about everything else except for the condolences that should be extended to his family and beloved company.  All because Dan Cathy answered a question with honesty and respect. How sad.

Like I said, these past two weeks have been weighing heavily on my heart. I feel like my faith, my American rights, and my job are coming under attack, and I take it very personally.

Above all else, I am a Christ follower.
I did not write the Bible, I read and study it. I did not give the Law, I try to follow it. I did not die on a cross for the sins of the world, but I worship the One who did and I call Him my Lord and Savior. Most of all, I am not a judge, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Christ will decide what is right and wrong when it is His time to do so, until then, I just want to live and love. Of course, there are things that are clearly marked as sins in the Bible. Murder, lying, adultery, etc. But the Law was given for us to follow, not for us to use against one another. The Law was given so that we might not wander away from our God who loves us, but instead, some people use the Law to drive others away from that very same God. With that said, I understand why the same-sex community feels oppressed by the church. I've seen the protests and I've heard messages of hatred screamed on street corners. I've seen families thrown out of churches, denied health care... I've seen it, and I apologize for it. The Bible states that homosexuality is wrong, and yes, it goes against God's original design for marriage. But in an effort to uphold God's commandments, I am afraid that the church has lost sight of them.

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Matthew 22:36-40
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

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Somehow, somewhere, that seems to have been lost in translation. Some people seem to have it in their heads that it is our God-given responsibility as Christ followers to judge, when Christ states clearly that the greatest commandment ever given is to love, and for that, I am very sorry.

Secondarily, I am an American.

"The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law."

Apparently not... and it's very sad. This right must not apply to people like Dan Cathy. The media has blown his response entirely out of proportion, rumors have been started because of it, and it's all because he exercised his right as an American to state his personal beliefs. Meanwhile, protests, some leading to vandalism, have been plaguing Chick-fil-A restaurants for nearly three weeks. When I turned on ABC News yesterday morning I saw Chick-fil-A painted as an anti-gay hate business, but saw nothing of the hateful words and actions that have been thrown back at us from the same-sex community and its supporters. Mike Huckabee created an event on Facebook to show support for Chick-fil-A on August 1st, for the sole purpose of encouraging the operators and team members who are just trying to make a living. When I looked at the event, it said absolutely nothing about the same-sex community, and it didn't even directly mention the controversy. But just days later, Facebook (temporarily) tore down the event page for being "highly offensive". Meanwhile, GLAAD (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has created an event called "National Kiss Day" which is encouraging same-sex couples to go to their local Chick-fil-A's and kiss. That event is still public. Is that really fair? I think not.

The part that really hurts me as an American is the response from Chicago Mayor Emanuel, who has blocked the grand opening of a recently built Chick-fil-A in his city, saying that, "Chick-fil-A's values are not Chicago's values. They're not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our families." This is particularly ironic to me because, SAME-SEX MARRIAGE ISN'T EVEN LEGAL IN ILLINOIS!!! If I had the opportunity, I would love to sit down with the Mayor and ask him this: was the country that you serve, in a high-leadership position of all things, founded on principles of same-sex marriage, or freedom of speech? I don't mean to be rude, but it certainly wasn't same-sex marriage! And if he is so concerned about this, then he might as well close down every Auto Zone, Exxon Mobile, Wal-Mart, and every Salvation Army location in Chicago while he's at it, because they are actively against same-sex marriage.

People might argue that the Cathy family's take on same-sex marriage is oppressive, but late last week Chick-fil-A released a statement that said plainly, "The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect -- regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender." This leads me to my third and final point.

I am a Chick-fil-A employee.
Most of our customers, at least the loyal ones who have not let this silly controversy get the best of them, have been talking about it for the past two weeks. My fellow team members have begun to feel the heat of the whole situation. In fact, we have been receiving fake catering orders from someone named "Les Bian" (how original), and I have received multiple threatening phone calls while I have been at work. I'm all for people expressing themselves, but this is just childish and silly, and I believe that this sort of behavior goes against the right to freedom of speech.

I told this to a friend of mine, who also refuses to dine at Chick-fil-A now: Chick-fil-A cannot make or break same-sex marriage. But you can be sure of this, we *will* continue to serve our guests with honor, dignity, respect, and love, and when/if you do (whoever you are) go to get a fresh chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A, you will be sent off with a smile and a heartfelt "my pleasure". This controversy will not change who we are, even though it has certainly brought out the worst of some people.

I just can't wait for this to be over.